Wingels, 29, was a sixth round pick (#177) in the 2008 NHL Draft before heading to Miami (Ohio). He had his best NHL season in 2013-14 with the San Jose Sharks when he scored 16 goals with 22 assists in 77 games.

San Jose traded Wingels to Ottawa last season during a rough season for the veteran. He had only seven goals and five assists in 73 combined games between the Sharks and Sens.

Bls…what guy would you have liked to sign as a 4c that wins enough draws to make you happy?

That guy wasnt out there. All depth guys that can be buried if the kids usurp them. No problem with letting the kids ripen in the A. I would hace prefered to go the kids…but they are complete unonowns at the pro much less nhl level.

Wingels plays with some grit, so in isolation don’t mind but boy this is real patchwork -a lot of work for not so much gain–let the kids play!!
Mostly this is a lot of nothing, instead of maybe one body that can help.

Two big issues last year – couldn’t roll 4 lines since the 4th line sucked and we lacked any toughness. I think the moves today help these issues. Regarding letting the young guys play, first they have to prove that they are NHL talent. Fortin and Dcat have not played above juniors – I don’t have any expectations for them next year other than making Rockford more competitive. There will be lots of competition, no one is going to be given a job – that is very good. I’m still not sure where we find 6 d-men to play and back-up goalie will be a big drop-off from Darls.